


Hopeless

by Jenn0509



Series: Faith, Hope, and Love [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angels, Angry Kissing, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Big Brother Dean, Blood Loss, Childbirth, Comfort Sex, Coming of Age, Cravings, Dom!Sam, Dreams and Nightmares, F/M, Fate & Destiny, Father Figures, Fatherhood, Fear of Discovery, Half-Siblings, Hurt Sam Winchester, Kidnapping, Light Bondage, Light Dom/sub, Loss of hope, Lucifer's Cage, Magical Tattoos, Mental Instability, Polyamory, Possessive Lucifer, Protective Dean Winchester, Reunion Sex, Reunions, Rough Sex, Sam Winchester and Mental Health Issues, Sex in a Car, Sex on a Car, Suicidal Sam, Threesome - F/M/M, Time Travel, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-08
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-03-06 18:24:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3144107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jenn0509/pseuds/Jenn0509
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam, Dean, and Isabel survived Eve, triumphed even. But Sam's mind is unstable, Isabel's pregnancy is making her increasingly moody, and Dean is just trying to figure out how to keep his family safe. Castiel's shit with Purgatory and the Leviathans was the last thing he needed.</p><p>Then Sam vanished.</p><p>It would be so easy for Dean to find him, but suddenly Isabel's a wanted woman and the Leviathans are setting up for dinner. Dean needs time, but babies and supernatural beings of evil aren't known for being accommodating.</p><p>He needs Sam. They need Sam, but his little brother seems determined not to be saved.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Everybody Wants To Rule The World

**Author's Note:**

> This is the Sequel to Faith, Hope, and Love, so please read that first! Also, starting this one off with some smut, so enjoy! ;)

**Everybody Wants To Rule The World: Lorde**

“Fuck you both!” Isabel screamed, trammeling down the stairs and out the front door.

 

Bobby walked to the bottom of the stairs, narrowly avoiding being run over by Ion as he bounded after his mistress, “What’d you two do now?”

 

Sam appeared at the top of the stairs, shirt half unbuttoned and hair mussed, “Uh...nothing.” Bobby arched an eyebrow and grunted, not having any desire to get into it with the boys or Isabel. Sam gave him a weak smile, “I’m just gonna go...make sure she doesn’t slash Dean’s tires.” She was contenting herself with kicking old beer cans a football field down the road. “Izzy?”

 

“Leave me alone, you asshole.” She growled, looking in the front seat of the Impala for car keys before starting to walk towards the road.

 

“Where are you going?” Sam asked, walking just behind her.

 

She was livid, “I was going to grab my bag out of the trunk to take this situation into my own hands, but you two keep the damned trunk locked and won’t let me near the keys, so I’m going to walk to town.”

 

Sam spluttered, “The hell? You’re just going to go sleep with some random guy?”

 

Isabel turned around to look at him, pleased to see jealousy on his face. At least he was looking at her now, “No, that actually wasn’t my plan. I was going to take my ass to the nearest sex shop and get something to fuck me, since apparently you two dicks aren’t interested anymore.”

 

“That’s not true.” Sam rebutted instantly. “You told us that last time with Dean hurt. We’re not going to hurt you.”

 

Isabel groaned, “Ugh! I should have kept my damned mouth shut! So my boobs were sensitive for a few days. Big deal! They’re fine now! You two have got to stop treating me like I’ve got some deadly venereal disease. I’m pregnant, not dying. It’s been a month since I told you two, and guess what? Neither of you have so much as touched me since. I’ve reached the second trimester, so now I’m horny as fuck, with no source of relief.” She stopped, breathing heavily, jaw clenched and nostrils flaring.

 

Sam had both hands up in self defense, “You done?”

 

“Maybe.”

 

He smiled at her impishly, “Good. Wanna go back inside?”

 

“You gonna fuck me?” She asked sharply, suddenly aware that for a teacher at heart, she was using that word a lot.

 

Sam shrugged noncommittally, “Maybe.”

 

Bobby drove up in one of his trucks, “Mutt and I are going into town to get that steak he likes. You coming with us, girl?”

 

Isabel shook her head, smiling at Ion, who had his head hanging out the window in excitement, “You spoil him.”

 

“Sure do.” Bobby said easily, “Great creature to have around.”

 

Isabel waved as Bobby drove away, “Be careful!” She locked eyes with Ion and raised her eyebrows, instructing him silently to behave for his new best friend. Sam was staring at her when she looked up at him, “What?

 

He shrugged, “Nothing, I just...never realized how much you treat Ion like he’s your kid.”

 

“I guess in some ways, he is.” Isabel answered, checking her phone and quickly responding to a text from Jesse asking if she was going to make it by for his birthday or if he could come to them. She said she’d ask. She looked up at Sam and smiled wistfully, “Sorry, hot-stuff. Mood’s passed. You’re on your own. I’m gonna get some pie.” Sam groaned. He’d finally convinced himself to her side of things, and then she flaked out on him. He kept his mouth shut, trailing behind her at least until they walked back past the Impala. She stopped, glanced at the shiny black car, and with two fluid motions, dropped her sundress to the ground, turning to Sam naked except for the sandals on her feet, “On second thought...” Her lusty blue eyes flicked to the car, and then she grabbed Sam’s hand, walking backwards and leading him to the Impala.

 

Not that he needed much persuasion. She was right, they had been avoiding having sex with her, but she was wrong in thinking they didn’t still want her. He’d been doing research on pregnancy every moment he wasn’t working with Dean on finding Crowley. She hadn’t been totally naked around him since they killed Eve, but she was even more breathtaking than before. “You’re beautiful.”

 

Isabel smiled, leaning back on the Impala, her pale skin stark against the paint. “Here I was thinking you two didn’t like me now that I’m all chubby.”

 

Sam put his hands on her stomach, where there was a small, but definite bump, “Not true, Izzy. Just didn’t want to hurt you. You sure you’re up for this?”

 

Isabel slid farther back, pulling him with her. “I’m totally sure. Doctor gave me the all clear this morning, and my body has adjusted to all the extra blood-flow, so I’m all good. Seriously, you’d better get some now because when I’m as big as a horse, this is gonna get a lot more difficult.”

 

Sam had his arms braced on either side of her head, and he was glad the Impala was in the shade or their skin would be searing on the hood of the car in the early May heat. Isabel was unbuttoning his shirt, complaining about how much she hated all the time it took to mess with buttons, but Sam just chuckled, leaning down to nuzzle her cheek before whispering into her ear, “You’re going to be loud, Isabel. So loud, that Dean comes out to see exactly what we’re doing.”

 

She smiled cheekily at him, pushing him back so he could shuck his shirt off while she worked on his belt, “That’s the plan. He’s a voyeur and we’re exhibitionists. Everyone’s happy. Me especially. I’ve missed you two.”

 

Sam pushed his pants off right after his boots before shoving his feet back in them so he wouldn’t be standing on the crushed stone and beer bottle combination that made up Bobby’s drive way, chuckling slightly at the fact that the only garments the two of them had on were their shoes. Isabel was waiting, albeit impatiently, the fingers of her left hand working furiously at her core while she pulled her own hair with her right hand. Sam leaned over her, resting his forearms on the Impala and replacing the hand in her hair with one of his own. He watched as her blue eyes practically rolled into the back of her head as he entered her, “Trust me, Isabel, we’ve missed you too.”

 

After a few thrusts, he could tell she hadn’t been completely honest. She hadn’t totally adjusted to the extra blood, but the pain from before was gone, he was certain, focusing on every movement of her face. Instead, she was hyper sensitive, and had come apart shaking around him before Dean even had a chance to show up. Isabel crying out her release caught Dean’s attention though, and Sam stilled when he heard the footsteps coming closer from inside the house, “Sam!? Isabel?” Dean yelled urgently seconds before the back door slammed open. “The hell?”

 

They grinned at each other, and Isabel wrapped her arms around Sam’s neck, lifting herself so she could look at Dean over his shoulder, “Hey, handsome.” Sam thrust and the new angle had her gasping, “Oh! Mmmh, sorry we started without you. Sam gave in first.”

 

Dean shuffled closer, eyes flitting over both of them, “Damnit, Sammy. I thought we had an agreement.”

 

Sam nodded, “We did, but then she took her clothes off, and...I couldn’t help myself.”

 

“What agreement?” Isabel asked, narrowing her eyes at him and stilling his hips by wrapping her legs tightly around him.

 

“We weren’t supposed to let our attention waver until we’re sure Crowley’s been dealt with. No distractions.” Dean said, tone angry, but his eyes heated with lust and his hands already working on his belt buckle.

 

Isabel had to giggle, “I’m a distraction?”

 

Dean’s eyebrows shot up incredulously, “Only the biggest one on the fucking planet.” He joined them directly, and afterwards, all three of them were laying boneless on the hood of the Impala, “This isn’t going to end well if you’ve dented Baby.” Dean muttered.

 

Isabel forced herself to sit up, yawning into the back of her hand, “Don’t worry, I was careful. We need to get cleaned up so we don’t blind Bobby when he gets back.”

 

The three of them were back among the books when the seasoned Hunter returned, “Great, you idjits made up. Who’s making dinner?”

 

“I will!” Isabel offered, but all three men shot her pained looks so she threw her hands up, “Seriously, it was one time! Promise I’ll keep in mind that not everyone likes the things I like. If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll heat up a frozen pizza or two.”

 

“Pizza sounds great, Izzy.” Sam grinned, watching the woman skip from the room.

 

The look on Bobby’s face said he knew exactly how they’d improved her mood. He decided not to call them out on it, not directly at least, “Pregnancy’s a look good on her.”

 

“Yeah, now that she’s stopped hurling every few hours.” Dean commented. “That was the pits.”

 

Sam glared at him, “Seriously, Dean? I’m the one that was up in the middle of the night with her. You kept sleeping.”

 

“Dude...” Dean began, but was cut off when Isabel screamed.

 

All three men rushed into the kitchen to find Isabel in the corner by the fridge, Ion between her and a red haired man, growling and spitting. Also, twice as large as usual, his skin stretched and torn across his larger frame. Yes, Ion was certainly along the same breed as a hellhound. The red haired man didn’t seem to care about the dog, his black eyes fixed on Isabel.

 

They subdued him easily, forcing him into a chair in the center of a well established Devil’s Trap. Dean skirted around Ion, still monstrous in appearance, and took Isabel’s hand in his, “You okay, Baby Girl?” She and the demon were still staring at each other, so Dean put himself between them, and she blinked up at his face, “Iz?”

 

She shook her head, a hand protectively on her stomach, “Yeah, sorry. He just startled me. I was digging in the freezer, I heard Ion growl, and saw him when I turned around.” She bit her lip, “I know I yelled, but he was just staring at me. Really creepy.” She looked around him at her dog, “Speaking of creepy. Did we know he could hulk out?”

 

Dean shook his head, and Ion seemed to sense they were talking about him, swinging his large head their direction before shrinking back to his usual size with a great heaving sigh, lumbering to the bed Bobby’d manufactured for him in the free corner of the kitchen. “Got a talismin in one of our Dad’s old dugouts that’s supposed to make people tell the truth. Might be quicker to go get it than waste our time interrogating this bastard.”

 

“Go.” Bobby said gruffly, “We’ve got things here.”

 

“Want to come with?” Dean asked Isabel, picking up his duffle bag.

 

She shrugged, “Nah, think I’ll stay here. Eventful day. I’m gonna go...” She gestured upstairs, “Take a nap or something.”

 

Sam checked in on her an hour later, and she was texting on her phone. “Jesse?”

 

“Adam.” She corrected, rolling her eyes at a knock-knock joke the teenager had sent her. She sighed, putting her phone in her lap, “I kind of feel like I should tell him he’s going to be an uncle, but everything’s so weird I’m not sure how he’d take it. Best not to say anything, right?”

 

Sam sat on the bed next to her, “I dunno. Odd as it is, you know our brother better than we do. What do you think?”

 

“I think our whole lives are odd, why should procreation be any exception? I mean, that demon stared at me like I was a steak, but I’m up here, in the same house listening to him being tortured just for being what he was made to be. I feel guilty.” Her hand was on her stomach again, like she could keep the baby from hearing the man’s screams.

 

Sam put one of his huge hands over hers, and kissed her gently, “He’d have killed you.”

 

Isabel nodded, “I know.”

 

He smiled, kissing her again, “Don’t lose that, Isabel. Ever. Dean and I, we’ve almost stopped seeing the people behind the monsters, and that isn’t a good thing. It’s why I hate myself even though you love me.”

 

She smiled at him, “I do love you.” She covered a yawn with the back of her hand, “I may not be vomiting anymore, but I’m exhausted all the time. Growing a new person is tough work.” She shoved him playfully, “You’re incubating the next one.”

 

Sam laughed, kissing her one last time, “I’ll get right on that.” She hummed in response, lethargy drawing her in. She was asleep before he left the room.

 

Isabel woke to hear the three men fighting with each other, and, against her better nature, she stayed out of it, sitting on the stairs until they were finished and the demon was howling again. She couldn’t get involved in that conversation because she didn’t want to pick a side. She didn’t want to see the look on Dean’s face when she confessed that she didn’t trust Castiel, her own brother, anymore than Bobby did. She went to join them and ran smack into the angel.

 

Castiel covered her mouth with one of his hands and pushed her against the wall, “Hush. I’m doing this to protect the boys.”

 

Isabel bit down hard on his hand, heart racing, but was pleased when he moved his hand to her wrist. “Doing what for them? All you seem to do is for yourself.” She hissed.

 

Castiel looked hurt, and his grip on her loosened, “I don’t know anymore.”

 

Isabel shrugged him off, “Don’t touch me again, and don’t you dare threaten my child.”

 

The hurt look increased, “I-I wouldn’t hurt you, Isabel. You or your child. Don’t mistake my actions as ones against you or the Winchesters. I have to go now.”

 

He vanished an instant later and she was left bemused and with an aching wrist. She was rubbing the joint when she went into the living room, just in time to see Dean kill the demon. He turned around once the deed was finished, and saw her, “Oh, shit. Iz!”

 

She shoved back the part of her that wanted to be angry. “D-don’t worry about me. What did he tell you that ended his usefulness?”

 

“Gave us a name, a higher level demon we need to track down.” Sam explained, his expression pained.

 

“Go.” Isabel said, swallowing back bile, “I’ll be fine here.”

 

“Seriously, we just caught that guy ready to eat you in the kitchen and you think we’re going to leave you alone?” Dean hissed.

 

Isabel threw her angel blade at him, letting it graze his cheek before embedding itself into the wall behind him, “He caught me off guard. Won’t happen again. Just go find Crowley so I can get back to eating ice cream for breakfast in peace.” She kept herself hard, rigid until they finally left. Then Isabel couldn’t help herself from curling around Ion, a hand in his fur, another on her stomach, and heaving great big sobs while she finally let the tension run out of her body. For a month, she’d been bored, but she’d been ignorant to what they did in the safe room. In a day, she’d gotten back the physical touch she’d been aching for, and thrown herself into a world that was very real and made her feel very small. She felt like a child who had been playing in her mother’s high heeled shoes and had tripped. The fear was crippling.

 

And all at once, she realized it wasn’t her fear.

 

It was Castiel’s.

 

Isabel uncurled herself a little, “Oh, Castiel, what have you gotten yourself into?”

* * *

Castiel was torn. They trusted him again, but it was just another lie. He didn’t notice the look on Dean’s face as he left, storming to Crowley, “You sent demons after them?”

 

Crowley sneered, “You kill my Hunters. Why can’t I kill yours?”

 

“They’re my friends!” Castiel defended.

 

“You can’t have friends, not anymore. I mean, my God. You’re losing it!” And he did, right after Crowley goaded him further, “A whore is a whore, is a whore. Just like the little cunt one of my demons got caught trying to deliver to me. Your sister, correct? I’ve heard she’s a pretty thing. Glowing, some would say.”

 

Castiel threw him against the wall, “Touch a hair on their heads, and I will bring it all down.”

 

But it was already done. Dean called, and he arrived instantly, “Hello.”

 

“Johnny on the spot.” Bobby commented.

 

Castiel looked around, “You’re still here.”

 

Sam smiled awkwardly, “Yeah, we had to bury the bodies.”

 

Dean chuckled, “And we found a little whiskey.”

 

He’d stepped into their trap before he’d even noticed a pair of crystal blue eyes watching him. The circle of flames around him threw light into the shadows, where Isabel and her dog were sitting, the female with tears glistening in her eyes. As they interrogated him, she got closer, slotting her fingers into Dean’s when the man blinked back tears of his own. “Dean.” She whispered, her voice soft, trying to abate his anger.

 

Castiel stared at her in shock. She was doing that for him. His infantile half human sister, protecting him for no reason than he was her brother. So young as she was, she was far more an angel than he was. He told them to run, when he felt Crowley coming, and swore to himself that Isabel and her child would be safe. Because they were better for Dean than he could ever dream to be. When he went to Dean, to try to explain, she was there again, watching from the stairwell. She would be there to pick up the pieces.

 

The next time he saw Dean, Isabel wasn’t there. So he didn’t have to endure her gaze when he brought the wall down in Sam’s mind.

* * *

When the boys got back to the motel they were crashing in, Isabel knew something was wrong. She was out the door before the Impala’s engine had shut off, “Sam!” He was in the back seat, totally still. Isabel threw the door open and grabbed him. “What the hell happened?” She asked once she’d determined that he was still breathing.

 

“Castiel.” Dean growled, grabbing Sam’s feet and pulling him out of the car, Isabel holding onto his head so they didn’t hurt him. Then they began their vigil.

 

Not for the first time, Dean was glad that, at her core, Isabel was the child of a nurse. She coddled Sam, sitting on the floor in the center of the safe room with his head in her lap, soothing him every time his brow furrowed, trying to kiss away the demons in his head. Dean had strayed farther away than usual, attempting to help Bobby, when Isabel yelled for him. Sam was fighting against her, and Dean could tell she was trying not to hurt him. “Sammy!” All at once, Sam went slack again, and Isabel pressed her fingers to the side of his neck before slumping back into her chair, a relived look on her face. “You okay?” Isabel waved him off, tired and anxious, not needing him to share. So he drank, watching the both of them until Balthazar showed up. Isabel didn’t acknowledge him at all, just kept brushing her fingers through Sam’s hair. “We’re going.” He whispered to her, smoothing her blonde hair and kissing the side of her head, “When the lazy ass gets up, come to us, okay? But you, you keep your pretty ass in the car.”

 

“Okay, Dean.” Isabel whispered, healing another cut that appeared on Sam’s lip with a gentle touch of her finger. She looked up at Dean when he was at the door, “Hey, be careful. I love you, you idiot.”

 

He smiled at her, “Love you too, Baby Girl. See you on the flip side.”

 

The safe room was silent until Sam seized again. He grabbed Isabel, pinning her to the floor until he finally seemed to recognize her. “Isabel?” He touched the soft swell of her stomach, “You’re okay?”

 

“Yeah.” She said, breathing heavily. He looked down at the piece of paper sticking out of the front pocket of his shirt, wincing in pain. “That’s where Dean and Bobby went.” Sam staggered to his feet and hauled her up, leaning on her all the way to Bobby’s truck. Isabel drove faster than she’d ever driven in her life, terrified by Sam’s erratic behavior, but so relieved he was awake. She didn’t even notice that he’d jammed her seatbelt, not until she tried to go into the building after him. If she’d been human, she wouldn’t have been able to free herself, but she scrambled in after him just minutes behind. Just in time to hear Castiel telling them to kneel.

 

She and Sam panted in unison, her hand on his back, and they followed Bobby’s lead to kneel. He put them off it though, telling them that they didn’t mean it, calling the boys pets, and then disappearing. Sam fell forward moments after. “Sam!” Isabel and Dean yelled, Isabel grabbing his shoulders. Her vigil began again, watching over Sam, and Dean kept getting angrier, taking it out on trying to fix the Impala and refusing to let her help. So Isabel echoed Sam’s every movement, watching his erratic behavior but saying nothing because he begged her not to. In his anger, Dean didn’t notice, and for some reason, Bobby trusted her enough to watch over Sam on her own.

 


	2. No Sound But The Wind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam loses it some more, and they have more than a few close calls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter covers the rest of Meet the New Boss (S7x01) and finishes through The Girl Next Door (S7x03). The chapter after this one will get us through Slash Fiction (S7x6), so we're moving right along!
> 
> Song is from one of the Twilight soundtracks, but it suits this chapter so well. Let me know what you think please! Next chapter is mostly written, but comments and suggestions are always welcome!

Castiel appeared bloody a week later.

Isabel couldn’t heal him, so they set on following his instructions to help him purge the souls he’d foolishly trapped inside his body. While the brothers worked, Castiel held her hand, saying it eased the pain. She let him. Until he sent her away, telling her that she and the baby didn’t need to be there when the portal opened. She’d just come back into the room when he doubled over.

She and Dean both had hands on him when he straightened, “Too late.”

“Cas?” Dean asked.

The other man grabbed Dean by the shirt collar, “Cas is-he’s gone. He’s dead. We run the show now.” To prove its point, the creature threw all three of them across the room. “Oh, this is going to be so much fun!”

When Isabel woke up, they were back at Bobby’s, and Sam was asleep next to her, one hand on her baby bump. Dean smiled tightly at her when she came into the kitchen, Ion plodding along at her side. “Sam still out?”

“Yeah.” She said, touching the bruised knot on the side of her head, “Ow.” Bobby tossed her a bag of peas to put on it, and they filled her in on what had happened with the Leviathans and Castiel.

Sam woke up the next morning, and Isabel winced when Dean poured whiskey on his cut hand instead of letting her heal it. Then he started talking. He didn’t believe they were real. He didn’t believe she was real. “Sam, that’s not true.” She hissed just before she bolted from the room, angry as hell at her brother for putting them all through that.

She rejoined them a few hours later when she woke up to a voice mail from her actual brother, but Dean was the only one there, his face lit by the moonlight outside. She didn’t hold back her frustration to figure out what was going on. “Daniel’s upset. Since Castiel’s rampage, he can’t find our mother. He loves me, but he’s going off the grid until he finds her. He’s worried the Leviathan might go after her.”

“Great. So now we’ve got no angel help at all. Where’s Adam?” Dean asked.

Isabel was livid. “He and Jesse are driving here. Apparently the two teenagers our our problem now, as if dealing with Sam loosing his marbles wasn’t enough!”

Dean scowled at her, “Hey, Iz, cool it.”

She took a deep breath, wincing as her chest protested. “Where is Sam?”

He stared at her, “I just got back. Thought he was upstairs with you.”

Isabel shook her head, a cold dread filling her, “No, I haven’t seen him since I want upstairs earlier. I must have heard him cleaning his gun or something a half hour ago when I woke up to go to the bathroom.”

Dean pinched his eyes closed, “Oh, crap.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you’d both left?” Isabel hissed as they rushed outside.

“You were sleeping! Didn’t expect Sam to wander off with you there.” He murmured, pulling out one of his phones.

“You did expect something.” She said when a tracking app showed up on his screen.

Dean shrugged, “Well, aren’t we glad I did.” He thrust the phone at her when he slung the backdoor of the Impala open for Ion to lumber in, growling at the apparently useless guard dog, and nearly catching the things tail in the door as he threw it shut. “I’ll drive, you navigate.”

“Please don’t tell me to wait in the car.” Isabel pleaded when they arrived at the warehouse.

Dean smiled tightly at her, “I need to know you’re safe. Stay near the car, don’t come inside until I give the all clear. I don’t know what I’m going to find in there.”

“Okay.” Isabel agreed easily, intending to plaster herself to the warehouse door so she would know what was going on.

Dean walked in warily, “Sam? Sam!” He laid eyes on his brother and was glad he’d gotten Isabel to stay outside. “Sam, what are you doing?” He jumped back when Sam leveled a gun at him, “Whoa! Whoa!”

“I thought I was with you Dean.” Sam hissed.

Dean had his hands out placatingly, “Okay, well here I am. Iz is right outside.”

Sam looked afraid, and it broke Dean, “No. No, I-I don’t- I...” He glanced to his left at something Dean couldn’t see, “I can’t know that for sure. You understand me?”

Dean nodded, drawing himself in to look less threatening, “Okay, then we’re gonna have to start small.”

“I don’t remember driving here.” Sam admitted brokenly, and looked to his left again.

He scared the shit out of Dean when he fired at the wall, “Woah! Woah! Sam! This discussion does not require a weapons discharge.” Sam struggled to put the gun down to his side, “Look at me.” Dean urged. “Come on. You don’t know what’s real?” He tried to rationalize with his brother, hoping that Isabel wouldn’t rush inside. “Look, man, I’ve been to hell. Okay? I know a thing or two about torture. Enough to know that it feels different than the pain of this-this regular stupid crappy this.”

The terror didn’t leave Sam’s face, but when the door opened behind Dean, he didn’t seem to startle at Isabel’s appearance, “No. No, how can you know that for sure?”

“Let me see your hand.” Sam looked down at his right hand, and Dean waved his own impatiently, “No, no, the gimp hand, let me see it.” Sam looked over his right shoulder, and Dean grabbed his left hand, “Hey! This is real. Not a year ago, not in hell, now. I was with you when cut it, I sewed it up. Look!” He pressed down on the wound, not letting go when Sam tried to yank his arm back, “This is different- right? Than the crap that’s tearing at your walnut. I’m different. Right? Isabel is different.”

Sam shook his hand free, but stared down at it, “Yeah, I think so.”

He looked at things that weren’t there again, and Isabel stepped closer, “Sam?”

He didn’t seem to hear or see her so Dean gave it a try, “Hey, Sam! I am your flesh-and-blood brother. Okay? And I’m the only one who can legitimately kick your ass in real time. Except Iz, but she loves you more than me, so you’re probably okay from her. But, you got away. We got you out, Sammy, you found her. Believe in that. Believe me, okay? You got to believe me. You gotta make it stone number one and build on it.”

Sam’s voice was hoarse, but the madness had receded from his eyes, “Yeah, yeah, agree.”

Isabel threw herself at him, “Oh, Sam.”

He held her awkwardly, trying to keep from tainting her any more than he already had. When his phone rang it was almost a relief. “Hey, Bobby.” He met Dean’s eyes over the top of Isabel’s head as he listened to their pseudo father, “Leviathan here?” He hung up, resting his hand on Isabel’s shoulder, “Bobby’s got a live one.”

They drove back to the house only to find it burnt to a crisp. “Bobby!” Isabel yelled, and, with surprising grace for a woman in her state, bolted from the car. She made a loop around the house, Ion on her tail, and was wheezing when she came back to them, her probably broken rib protesting. “He wasn’t in the house. I can’t tell much more.”

“Could still be on the grounds.” Dean inferred, motioning for Sam to go right before he zeroed in on Isabel, “You and Fido stay here, okay? Whoever did this could still be around.”

“Okay.” Isabel agreed, though they both knew she’d already broken the same agreement earlier in the night. She broke it again when Dean fired his shot gun into the Leviathan’s head. She arrived just in time to half catch him when he bounced off the hood of a car the, now angry, Leviathan threw him into. “Dean!” She shrieked, looking at his broken leg and then up to the Leviathan. She started to stand, like she was going to try to take the thing on, but Dean grabbed her wrist and they both focused on Sam who was fighting as best as he could.

“Dean! Now!” Sam yelled, and while Isabel had no idea what he was talking about, Dean lunged for a piece of equipment hanging near him and pressed a button, dropping a car on the Leviathan. Not before the creature had a chance to crack him in the head with a pipe.

“Sam!” Isabel yelled when he didn’t move, and scrambled across the gravel to his side.

Dean followed more slowly, “Sammy?! Hey, come on, now. Come on, I’m the one with the broken leg. You gotta carry me! Sam?!” He looked up at Isabel expectantly, but her skin was pallid. “Iz?”

When she spoke her voice was fragile, hardly a whisper, and her hands were shaking over Sam’s face, “Nothing’s happening. Just like with Gwen. I- Dean, what do we do?”

Dean tore his eyes away from his brother and the rapidly devolving half angel and pulled out his phone, dialing 9-1-1. He blacked out at some point, and came to in the ambulance, his left hand being crushed in Isabel’s hands. He looked left to see the EMT working on Sam, “You stay with me, you hear?” He ordered. A few moments later and Sam’s whole body clenched up, “Sam? Sammy?!” And then he heard that they were arriving at Sioux Falls General Hospital and he panicked. He faded out of consciousness right after. He woke up just as they were setting his leg, his pain being overridden by the twin desires of finding Isabel and Sam. “Where’s my brother? We gotta go.”

The doctor at the end of the bed smiled tightly, “He’s bashed his head quite seriously. He’s gone up for an MRI. His wife has stayed with him.”

Wife, of course Isabel would have gone with Sam, and they would have only let his wife go with him. They’d need to rectify that. Isabel deserved to be made an honest woman of. They had to get out of this hospital first, “Okay, I gotta go.”

Hands held him back, “You’re not going anywhere on this leg, buddy.” He lost consciousness again, likely due to the drugs he saw someone putting into his IV.

When he was alert again, he promptly crumpled to the floor and had to endure the indignity of a very alive Bobby hauling his ass back up onto his bed. The older man headed off to find Isabel and Sam, and left Dean on his gimpy own. He scarcely got to the ambulance Bobby had stolen before two not so sweet looking medical professionals were tearing out the back door. Bobby hauled ass, and Dean looked into the back where Isabel was holding onto Sam’s hand, “Hey, Baby Girl. You and Sasquatch okay?”

She pressed a tender kiss to the back of Sam’s hand, “Yeah.”

They spent three weeks holed up in a cabin in Montana. A few days into it, Isabel was apparently well enough to heal most of Sam’s injuries, but it had wiped her out and she still hadn’t recovered enough to heal Dean’s leg. Her weakness hadn’t seemed to affect the baby though, and, under a new identity and Bobby’s protection, a very human doctor had confirmed that everything was fine a week ago. Isabel was getting stir crazy though, so Bobby had taken her out for ice cream. The older hunter had taken the time away from daytime telenovellas to touch base with some of his contacts. Those results had been less than fruitful.

Dean sent Isabel back out with Sam to get more food, and it all went to hell. It would take Isabel and Dean a little while to figure it out though. The brothers had a spat about pie versus cake, and then Isabel and Dean nodded off on the sofa. Sam left them a note, stealing Dean’s keys, and shushing the dog that growled at him as he left, “Hey, I’m fine, man. Gotta check something out.”

Ion continued to growl, but made no move to stop him.

He was long gone when morning came and woke Dean up. He nudged Isabel awake, fingers finding purchase on the paper Sam had left, “I’ve got some things I need to work out. Back as soon as I can. I’m fine. -Sam.”

Dean felt numb, but it was Isabel’s stoicism that worried him. Once she’d stopped crying, she hadn’t said another word, staring out the window while Dean talked to Bobby, hardly blinking until she tore into the bedroom. Isabel grabbed onto one of Sam’s worn shirts and curled up in the center of their bed. He waited to join her, unsure she would want him close, but when he finally sat on the edge of the bed, she turned to face him, looking lost, “How could he leave like that? What are we going to do, Dean?”

Her voice was small, and it broke what was left of his resolve. Tears pricked in his eyes, “I don’t know, Baby Girl. I honestly don’t know.”

She reached towards him for comfort and he let himself sink into the bed, wrapping himself protectively around her. She buried her face into his chest and whispered, “Dean, please don’t ever leave me. I couldn’t bear it.”

He breathed in her scent, and said the words she needed to hear, even if he couldn’t guarantee them. “I won’t, Isabel, I won’t leave you, and we’ll get him back. I promise.”

They stayed like that for what felt like days, just holding each other and taking turns trying not to cry. Finally, Isabel wriggled out of his arms to bolt to the bathroom. He heard her puking and winced in sympathy. He didn’t blame her, his own mostly empty stomach was trying to rebel against him too, and he didn’t have a baby pressing on all of his insides. In order to keep himself from joining her in her worshipping of the porcelain god, Dean took a hand saw to the cast on his leg, and settled back into bed with his dad’s journal, vaguely acknowledging the sound of the shower turning on.

Dean looked up when Isabel finally exited the bathroom with a smirk on his face, “Did you fall in?” She was white as a sheet, standing in her underwear, hair dripping wet. Dean jumped to his feet, “What happened? Are you okay?” She shook her head, holding up a trembling hand, her fingers smeared with blood. He set into action immediately, “I didn’t think he’d hurt you. Where are you bleeding from? Isabel talk to me.” He checked her wrists first, hoping she hadn’t done something stupid, but the fragile skin was clear.

“I’m bleeding, Dean. I shouldn’t be bleeding.” She tore away from him and went back into the bathroom.

He found her heaving over the toilet again. In a move that was more Sam than him, Dean wet a washcloth and held it against her forehead. When Isabel was done, she took the cloth from him and vigorously rubbed the blood off her fingers. “Isabel?”

Head between her hands, she stared at the ground. “Something’s wrong, Dean.”

His hand itched towards his gun, “What happened?”

Isabel pulled back on her wet hair panickedly, gesturing to the tub, “I was taking a shower, and...” She shook her head, her blue eyes darting up to his green ones, “I’m bleeding, Dean. It’s not...normal.”

“Where the hell are you bleeding from, Isabel?” Dean snapped. Isabel winced away from him, pulling her knees to her chest, exposing the macabre sight of three bright red blood drops on the dingy white tile directly under her bloody panties. “The baby.” He whispered, feeling dizzy.

Isabel was shaking, and Dean slipped his hand into hers, “Hey, I’m sure everything’s fine.” Even as he said the words, he knew they weren’t what she wanted to hear. They weren’t words he wanted to hear either. They were words Sam would have said anyway. Sam who was probably being tortured as they spoke. He’d run from them when they’d tried to help. Sure, his note said he was fine, but he could’ve written it in a Lucifer-fugue state. They wouldn’t know until they found him, but the baby needed their attention first.

She jerked her hand from his, “Dean, we’ve been through a lot these last few weeks, and now I’m bleeding. Sam’s gone! Everything is not fine!” Isabel snapped, chucking a hairbrush at him and dissolving into tears.

He let the brush hit him in the head, the severity of what Isabel was telling him, finally hitting him. “We need to get you checked out right now.” He said, grabbing her hand again and dragging her out the door of the motel room as soon as she pulled on a pair of ratty sweatpants and a T-shirt. He drove like crazy, and skid to a stop in front of the ER. Isabel was out before he could voice his order for her to bail. Yeah, he cut off an ambulance in his hurry to get to a parking space, but he really didn’t care. That crazy part of his brain that only Isabel and Sam could bring to life was icy with determination.

He’d lost Sam.

He couldn’t lose her too.

They couldn’t lose the baby.

He knew what would happen. If they lost the baby, he’d lose Isabel, and without her, finding Sam wouldn’t mean so much. If they both died, his brother would hate him.

Isabel was bouncing on the balls of her feet when he came in, burning nervous energy in the only way she could as she frantically scribbled information onto a clipboard. She didn’t notice the nurses’ eyes following her every move and taking in the way Dean’s body was wound too tight with his eyes zipping from each person in the room to the bruise on Isabel’s arm. A nurse came to get her, but refused to let Dean come back with her. “I’ll be fine, Dean.” Isabel assured him, her heart too sick feeling to make a scene over something so minor. They probably just wanted her to be alone while she changed. She was alone for a while though, stewing in her anxiety and fear even more.

Finally, woman approached the bed Isabel had been led to, a pillow under her hips. Dressed in a sharp suit, she smiled at Isabel, not looking anything like a doctor or nurse. “Hello, I’m Risa, some of the nurses thought you might need to talk to me.”

Isabel drug her eyes up to the woman’s face. Dark hair, dark skin, dark eyes, Isabel’s opposite in every aspect of coloring. “Why would I need to talk to you?”

Risa smiled, but it was strained, “Does Dean have access to weapons? It’s okay.” Risa said, taking her hand, “You don’t have to worry about him, you’re safe here.”

“Safe? What? Dean would never hurt me!” Isabel yelled, pulling away.

Risa winced, “Isabel, I know it can be scary, but for the safety of your baby, you can’t stay with an abusive man anymore.”

Isabel stared, the word ‘baby’ sticking in her head, replaying over and over. She couldn’t breathe. If the woman was talking about the baby, then maybe it was okay. They needed to find out for sure so they could find Sam. “I need Dean, right now.”

Risa stared at the blonde woman, taken aback by the fury in her eyes. She almost tripped over herself getting out of the room. She went into the lobby, “Dean Hastings?”

The man she had pegged as a wife beater earlier looked anxious when he bounded forward, “Can I see Isabel?” Risa nodded.

Dean didn’t have to ask where she was, he could feel her, feel the confusion and panic coming off her. She met him at the doorway, sobbing. “Dean!” She threw herself into Dean’s arms, knocking him back three steps and causing him to grunt.

He did his best to soothe her, “Hey, Baby Girl, chill out. You’re scaring Gramps over there, and he already looks like he’s got a foot out the door.”

Isabel looked up at him with puffy, red rimmed eyes, “He’s gone, Dean. Sam is gone, and I’m pregnant. He would know what to do, he always knew what to do, and he’s gone. We didn’t have enough time! I need him, Dean. We have to find him.”

“The baby’s okay?” She nodded even though she hadn’t heard for positive. He kissed her forehead, brushing her hair from her damp face, “We’ll figure all of this out, Isabel, I promise.” He forced a smile to comfort her, “Sammy’s not the only one who knows how to do research.” Dean wiped tears from her face, “There you go, Baby Girl.”

She took a deep steadying breath, smoothing her hair with her hand, “I’m fine. We can go from there, right?”

Dean smiled, kissing her forehead, “Yeah, Iz, we can go from there.”

She nodded, “I know.” Isabel glared at the social worker, “I’m okay, so if you don’t mind, I’m leaving.”

“You need to be examined further.” Risa said firmly.

Isabel clutched Dean’s jacket, “Dean would never hurt me.” She was sticking to that because the other reason why they’d want to look closer was too terrifying to imagine.

The social worker sighed, “You said you’ve had some recent trauma, the doctor ordered a sonogram. The technician should be here any minute.”

Isabel’s face went slack, her eyes wide, “Oh.”

Dean frowned, “Why, do they think something’s wrong?”

Risa sighed, “In addition to the reported bleeding, her blood levels were strange. The doctor just wants to make sure everything is alright. It’s possible the bleeding could be related to a um... possible miscarriage.” She awkwardly put Isabel’s chart back on the wall, “I’ll be going. If you need anything, you have my card.”

She left them more alone than ever.


	3. Who Knew

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's been a year and a half…I'm so sorry! Life and my last year of college just didn't give me a lot of time to work through the writers block that I encountered with this story. The trajectory of this thing has been set much more firmly now though, which should make the next chapters come more easily and much more quickly as I connect pieces I've already written.
> 
> This chapter goes to the end of 'Shut Up, Dr. Phil' (S7x05). Also, baby!winchester in no more than 4-5 chapters, so there's that! Isabel is 24 weeks pregnant in this chapter, so she's well over the half way point with about 3 months to go.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> (Also, dialogue at the end of the chapter belongs to SPN)

**Who Knew: P!nk**

Dean had expected Isabel to snap something at the woman, but the little blonde just let him go, drifting back to the bed she’d been given, her hand on her stomach. He told the woman to beat it before following her. Dean wanted to punch something at the look on her face, “Isabel, everything is fine, I’m sure.”

Tears bubbled up in her eyes, “You can’t say that, Dean. You heard what she said.”

A plump woman with a noisy cart came into the room, cutting off his attempts to comfort her. The woman looked at Dean, “I’m Andy, are you the dad?”

Dean blinked at her, “Uh...”

“Yes.” Isabel answered for him, shooting him a pointed look as she settled herself back onto the bed.

Andy smiled obliviously, “Well let’s take a look at your little one, shall we?” She approached Isabel, and Dean had to force himself not to panic at her being between them. Andy instructed Isabel to pull her gown to the side, and Dean took the opportunity to move to the other side of the bed and pull a blanket to cover her legs. He’d seen her shiver once or twice, and couldn’t hold her to keep her warm. A blanket was as good as he could do. “Ouch, that’s a nasty bruise.” Andy commented sweetly at the dark mark splashed across Isabel’s ribs, the only external wound that hadn’t healed yet. Dean could kill all of Castiel’s monsters for that alone.

Isabel seemed to be calming down and gave a small pained smile, “We were in a car accident a few weeks ago. I thought everything was fine.”

Realization dawned in Andy’s eyes, “Okay, doll, let’s take a look.”

Isabel snatched up Dean’s hand, and he rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand as soothingly as he could manage, his own anxiety gnawing at him. Andy moved an odd looking thing over Isabel’s gel covered stomach, talking lowly to herself. The longer the silence stretched, the more anxious Isabel grew.

A smile bloomed on Andy’s face, “Had to take a look around, but there’s the little one.” Her eyes flicked across the screen, clicking her tongue, “No need to worry, you two. Your baby is fine, and everything looks normal.” She moved the wand again, “There’s a little bleeding coming from over here, probably from your trauma, but your placenta is still attached properly. Measuring about twenty four weeks, and...” She trailed off, looking up at them with an excited grin, “Ready to hear the heartbeat?”

Dean just stared at Isabel, and Andy took that as a sign to flip a switch on her machine. Dean looked panicked by the quick whooshing noise, “Is it supposed to be that fast?”

Andy nodded, “That’s totally normal. Fetal heartbeats are faster than adult ones.”

Isabel squeezed Dean’s hand, “Everything’s okay.” She sounded breathless, and was listening with a look of pure awe on her face. She started crying again, and it took Dean a few seconds to register that they were happy tears. She pinched her eyes shut, a broad smile on her face, “I’ve heard it before, but that is still so incredible.”

“Yes, it is.” Andy confirmed with a giggle, “Would you like to know the sex?”

“The what?” Dean blurted cluelessly just as Isabel exclaimed, “Yes!”

Andy laughed, “Let me find it again and check again. I don’t want to tell you wrong!” She glanced at Dean, “So, dad, boy or girl?”

Dean blinked at her like an idiot, “I...I’ve never really thought about it. Healthy.” He hadn’t. He hadn’t thought of a future outside of hunting in years. Now though, he wasn’t sure where he’d been thinking things with Isabel would go though. Before Castiel’s shit, he should have been thinking about a future, but he hadn’t. Isabel was so maternal, so gentle and kind. She and Sam would make phenomenal parents, but with Sam awol...what was he going to do? Yeah, he’d blurted stuff out to comfort Isabel, but he didn’t even know where to start past scouring the ends of the earth for Sam.

Andy just nodded at his panicked expression, looking back at her screen, “Not the first time I’ve heard that one.” She muttered to herself for another minute before looking back at them, “Well, looks like... you’re going to have a little boy. I’ll print pictures.”

Isabel gave a little laugh and pulled his hand to her cheek, “A boy, Dean. A boy.”

Andy smiled broadly, putting a few black and white photos on the bedside table, “Congratulations! I’ll go see if I can find your exit papers.” Andy scurried out, dragging her equipment behind her.

Isabel looked up at Dean, her eyes sparkling, “We’re having a boy.”

Dean chuckled, “Seems that way.” He brushed hair out of her eyes, “You okay?”

She nodded, sighing, “I’m better. Tired, but better.” She threw her head back groaning dramatically, “Oh, God, there’s going to be three of you. We have got to find Sam. If this kid is anything like you two, I’ll have a heart attack before I’m thirty.”

“Hey, I resemble that remark.” Dean joked.

They kept her in the hospital for the rest of the night, and insisted she stay one more full night because they were concerned about further bleeding and wanted to make sure she was fully mobile and nothing went wrong before they let her go.

Dean was kind of loving it. He had plentiful opportunity to be his usual self, a relentless flirt, and had become adept at getting in and out of the hospital cafeteria without paying anything. The doctor had just come by with Isabel’s discharge papers, a huge relief to them both, when Dean looked up at the muted TV and froze, “Oh, shit.”

“What?” Isabel asked, but she couldn’t see the TV past him.

Dean started grabbing up her stuff, “We need to get you out of here. Up! Up! Come on, you can snooze in the Impala.”

“What the hell, Dean?” Isabel hissed, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

“There’s video, Isabel.” Dean whispered back, and when she didn’t get the hint, he added, “Of six months ago.”

Isabel felt the blood drain from her face. Looking around him, she saw her own face staring back at her from the television screen, from the evening she’d killed the possessed convenience store clerk, “Oh, shit.”

“Yeah, shit, now let’s roll!” He threw her bag at her and took just enough time to pull the IV gently out of her arm before he helped her pull on a pair of scrubs so she wouldn’t stand out so badly.

He avoided the social worker who’d seemingly attached herself to Isabel during the last forty-eight hours, and ducked into the security room to erase all the footage like he should have at the convenience store. He’d been a little concerned about having just almost died, but he and Sam should have been more careful.

Now Sam was MIA, and Isabel was being hunted by law enforcement.

The only bright spot in his suddenly shitty day was that now they knew that their boy was fine, that both mother and child were well enough to return to ‘normal activity’.  Which now included running from the law…fabulous.

Isabel sat in the front seat of the car trying Sam’s numerous cell phone numbers (which she’d been doing in spurts for the last two days), while Dean changed the plates on the Impala, just in case someone had recognized her while they were in the hospital. “I don’t get how they had your name, Iz.” He said, once they had picked up the rest of their stuff and Ion, and were back on the road.

Isabel shrugged, “Teachers are fingerprinted. Don’t know why it took so long, but my prints would have already been on file with the government.”

“Shit, someone is looking for you. The video was edited, narrowed in, Sam and I weren’t in it at all, no sign of you summoning your angel blade. We shouldn’t have used your real name at the hospital.” Dean drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel.

Isabel clicked her tongue, “Dean, pull over.”

His attention focused back on her, “What? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, but we need to make a CVS run before everyone around here knows my face.” Isabel said gesturing to the beige building on their right. Dean pulled in and followed her through the store. She grabbed a box of hair dye, a colorful scarf, and went to the cash register, smiling and laughing with the clerk, talking about how she wanted a change before the baby was born. The scarf, she explained, was to dress up her bland scrubs some what, since she was a nurse. The female clerk bought it all, and went on a tirade about how they needed to do everything they wanted to do before the baby was born or they wouldn’t have any time at all. Dean wanted to bolt, but Isabel kept chatting for a couple more minutes before their conversation wound down.

“What the hell was that?” Dean asked once they were back in the car.

Isabel rummaged through the box for the instruction booklet, having already tied the scarf over her hair, “I had to stay calm. Panicked pregnant girl buying hair dye with an anxious guy is a recipe for being noticed. I love my hair, but it’s got to go.”

Dean stared at her, amazed by how steady she seemed, “Where are you getting this from?”

She sighed, “I have to protect my son, Dean. If I get locked in prison, we won’t last a day. You can tell I’m a blonde in the video, people will be looking for a blonde, but if I’m brunette, they’ll look right past me. Deep down, most people are oblivious to everything around them.” She looked over at him and smiled wryly, “Before Sam came along, I watched a lot of TV. Seems like a good enough time to put my knowledge to use.”

Dean reached over and touched a blonde curl, “I forget you weren’t always in this shit.”

She shook her head, “No, Dean. I was in this the moment I was born.” Her cellphone chimed, “The boys saw the news, they’re heading to our cabin in Toronto. Adam says he’s sick of Jesse changing their car, apparently makes it difficult to find in parking lots.” She put the phone down, tapping the back of her head on the headrest. “This sucks.”

“Hey, we’ll be fine, baby girl.” Dean said, reaching over and taking her hand.

Her phone rang, and she flipped it over with her free hand, relief coloring her features, “Sam.” She put the phone on speaker and held it between them, hissing to Sam in greeting, “Where the hell are you?”

Sam’s voice filled the car, “Izzy, are you and Dean okay? I saw the video.”

“We’re fine now, you fuck-wit!” Dean growled.

Isabel glared at him, “We were in the hospital when the video came on. I bled a little, but  the baby and I are fine. You need to meet up with us today, and we need to stay together. I don’t think our son likes us being apart.”

“Our son?” Sam gasped.

“Yeah,” Isabel said, a smile flicking onto her face before vanishing just as quickly as it had come, “It’s like finally knowing the gender has allowed me to connect to him. I can feel him moving inside of me now, but also in my head. It’s bizarre. It’s like he doesn’t like not being able to hear you. I don’t either, but I’m more worried about not getting arrested.”

“You didn’t say anything about feeling him move.” Dean said, glancing over at her.

“Felt him move when the sonographer was poking at him. I was a little overwhelmed and thought it was gas at first, to be honest. Since we got on the road though, it’s been more direct, and I noticed that I wasn’t just feeling Ion in my head.” Isabel explained, rubbing slow circles into her bump.

Dean sputtered, “You ‘feel’ Ion in your head?”

She nodded slowly, “I think it’s blood linked. I’ve always been able to anticipate Ion’s intentions or feelings. He instantly liked Sam, and that’s why I decided to pick up a mammoth of a guy in the park at dusk.” Her hand stilled, and she just laid her palm flat on her stomach, “The baby isn’t happy, I’m not happy, and Dean’s not happy. You coming back could make a world of difference.”

“Could?” Sam said from the other end of the line.

“I’m getting heartburn and I have to dye my hair.” Isabel said simply, her face contorted in annoyance. “We somehow have to make it across the border into Canada to get the boys. They’re not safe out on their own.” She looked at Dean, “Adam telling me about the car is bad. I think Mother’s controls on Jesse are failing. Adam’s not in any position to take on parenting a kid who’s that powerful and only five years younger than him. Jesse sees him like a brother not an authority figure. It’s a recipe for disaster.” 

“I’m in Kansas City. We can meet up in Omaha.” Sam said instantly.

“We need to hurry, they’re already almost to Madison.” She said, straightening the dye instructions again. “I need an hour in a bathroom somewhere.” She locked her eyes on Dean, “And your help.”

“Whatever you need, baby girl.” He said accommodatingly, taking the phone from her lap, “Sammy, you wrap up whatever shit you’ve got going and book it to Omaha. We’ll get a room at the motel off 480.” He hung the phone up and turned onto 29 South.

The drive took the better part of three hours with Isabel having to stop to pee twice, and then Dean got to join her in learning the art of at-home hair dye. He stood staring at her, “I will never un-see this.”

Isabel glowered at him, “If you hadn’t gotten yourself stabbed by a possessed store clerk, I wouldn’t have to be ruining my hair with this shit. You do realize my hair will never be the same again.”

“Oh, this is my fault?” Dean said, aghast.

Isabel pouted, “Yes, would you find me some Tums or something? I’ve got twenty minutes before I can wash this crap out.”

By the time Sam arrived, Isabel’s newly brown hair had been blown-dry. The sight of her stunned Sam, “Wow.”

She glared darkly at him, “I know, it’s atrocious.”

Sam shook his head, “No, Izzy, you look great, it’s just...you suddenly look like Castiel.”

Isabel look at herself in the mirror. “Guess I do, don’t I? Weird that Castiel’s half sister would look so much like Jimmy Novak. Wonder if Mother did the same thing to him that she did to Daniel.”

“You think your mother would have done that?” Dean said, aghast.

She nodded, “Totally. Do something once, it’s easier to do it again. I don’t know my mother, not really. I know Veronica Hastings, loving mother, nurse, and former housewife. I don’t know Veronica the Mother-Angel.” Her voice faltered, hardly above a whisper, “Honestly, she scares me.”

Sam pulled her into his arms, “We won’t let anyone hurt you, Izzy.”

Isabel sunk her nails into his forearms, glaring up at him, “You can’t do that if you keep running off. We were vulnerable.” She jerked away from him, and ran her fingers through her hair anxiously. “I need to sleep, and I just got a text from the boys. Apparently your brother can’t read street signs. They ended up in Columbus, Ohio.”

“So now he’s our brother? Thought you liked to claim the little runt as yours.” Dean said, folding a blanket over Ion, who had passed out on one of the two beds halfway through dyeing Isabel’s hair.

She nodded, getting into bed next to her dog, “Yup, when he’s an idiot like that, he’s all yours!” She buried her face in Ion’s hair, “Night, guys. Baby’s sleeping, I’m sleeping. Gotta start storing up for when he kicks the snot out of me all the time and then for when he comes into the world to make me pull my hair out for the next hundred years or so.” She lifted her head slightly, “I love you two idiots.”

They woke her up the next morning with news that the boys had hunkered down in New Haven, Indiana, and they’d found a case in some place called Prosperity. “You think they’ll be okay?” Sam asked Isabel.

Isabel nodded, eyeing her brown hair warily in the motel mirror, “Yeah, they’ll be fine as long as they stay put. I need to lay low anyway. Ion and I can’t help out this time.”

She tried to stay out of it, really, she did, but Maggie Stark took a shine to her the instant they walked into town. “Oh my, you are literally glowing. Completely the poster child for all those ads that try to glorify being pregnant so women actually want to have babies.”

Isabel laughed awkwardly, wishing the two boys hadn’t bailed on her to research murders. “Thank you. I’m just over halfway there. Pretty sure there’s plenty of time for the whole swollen ankle miserableness.” She smiled at the woman, “You have kids?”

Maggie rolled her eyes, “No, and my sleaze of a husband and I are separating, so it’ll be a while. How about you, you have a slime-ball husband?”

Isabel grimaced, “Can’t say I do. Doesn’t sound like it’s that much fun.”

“It actually is,” Maggie began, “until the bastards start sleeping with their receptionists.”

“I’m sorry.” Isabel said genuinely.

“They’ll be sorry too.” Maggie told her darkly, and it was three days before Isabel put the dots together about the witch the boys were talking about being Maggie.

They’d gone to kill Maggie and her husband at that point, leaving Isabel to her own devices in the motel room with Ion. In a shocking turn of events, she just curled up on the bed and took a nap, her research was just that exciting.

Several hours later, the boys returned to the motel room. Dean heaved a sigh and pulled out his flask, taking a swig, causing Sam to raise his eyebrows at him, “Oh, give me a break, lights are out, she’s asleep. She can’t get pissy about one lousy drink.”

Sam made a face, “I didn’t say anything.”

Dean crumpled in on himself a little, “It’s been a long day.”

“And it's not over yet.” A voice from behind them growled.

Sam and Dean spun around, Dean pulling his gun.

“Hi, Sam. Hi, Dean.” The man standing behind them said, grinning.

“Do we know you?” Sam asked, looking around for Isabel and Ion.

“Well, I definitely know you.” The man began with a laugh, “You're the dead guys. Well, you will be in a minute. Just like your little whore.”

Dean pulled the trigger on his gun, but black liquid just oozed from the creature’s chest and the bullet popped out. “Where the hell is she?”

The man grimaced, “Sorry, you’re a bit outmatched. Not really in a place to make demands, you know?” The man punched first, sending Dean sprawling to the floor before grabbing Sam. He fell to the floor a second later, visibly electrocuted. Don Stark was standing in the doorway.

Dean straightened up, “Don. Well, thank you. We owe you.”

Don made a face of disgust at the creature on the floor, “Good God. What is that thing?”

“I guess we should be figuring that out.” Sam said, gesturing to the closet door.

Dean nodded, taking the other side, “It’s on our to-do list.”

Don waved a hand dismissively, “You know, find a bottomless pit and drop it in. Spell only lasts for a few days.” He watched the boys jerk the closet door open, revealing Isabel, who’d been bound and gagged, and knocked unconscious. Ion had been as well. Don peered at her, “So that’s the whore he was referring to. She must be the little pregnant thing Maggie took such a shine to. You’re lucky. She was almost on my list.”

When Don started feeling around under the mattress of the bed Sam slept on, the younger Winchester asked, “Uh, what are you even doing here?”

“Apparently, saving your lives -- twice.” Don replied, holding up a coin, “Got it.”

Sam hauled Isabel up into his arms, “Maggie? Seriously?” 

“She was gonna kill us? We just saved your damn marriage.” Dean exclaimed.

Don held up a second coin, “Yeah, but to be fair, you also tried to kill her. You know how she is when she gets a bug up her ass. Got to love her, right? Right. Bottomless pit. Ciao!” Don said as he left.

Isabel stayed unconscious while they loaded the creature, who’s ID said his name was Chet, but Ion had stirred and put himself between a chained Chet and Isabel. The dog spent the entire ride to Bobby’s glaring at the creature, even after Isabel woke up and the boys relaxed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are my lifeblood! If you've got anything you want to see, let me know!


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